


past, present, future

by BlackCats



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, Implied Relationships, Post-Game, introspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 22:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5719129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCats/pseuds/BlackCats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dreams and memories share a thin line--Tiki learns she is not the only one who bears such a burden.<br/>(Tiki, her friends, and lifetimes measured by stars.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	past, present, future

She’s only left alone when the mothers come to collect their children from her back and from her paws, and though they bow to her reverently and whisper of her _Voice_ and of her _blood_ , they also smile and joke with her regarding the antics of children, of how they are tireless until they are not, and Tiki is content. Their friendship is something she's fought hard to earn and she has no intention of taking it lightly.

She does not yet move from the field just to the right of that humble village, because she is comfortable and the stars are beginning to rise. They wink into existence a few at a time, shining in familiar and eternal patterns far above her head, and it’s—

It’s bittersweet, but she hears Nowi’s words warm in her ears, and she is not sad.

Tiki turns and rolls onto her back. The soft white light emanating from her scales seems every bit like the celestial glow above her, and in her drowsy lull, she imagines what it would be like to be capable of flying straight to the stars…of seeing the people there, of staying and becoming a star herself.

Marth would be the brightest one. There can be no doubt on that. The navigation star…Tiki hums low in her throat and rolls her eyes shut.

Sometime before the moon has even reaches its zenith, she awakens from dreams of robed figures and a blade shining against the darkness to find…a child sitting upon her stomach. The pressure is _so_ slight and _so_ tiny that she only notices it because the child speaks.

“I thought dragons slept in caves,” says the child, and she gives Tiki such a confused look that the Voice laughs. The child giggles as the motion makes her bob up and down.

“We sleep where we wish to sleep,” Tiki replies.

“But…aren’t you supposed to be sleeping in the Mila Tree? Lady Say’ri said you were! O-Or on the holy mountain!”

“Yes, well…Aren’t _you_ supposed to be sleeping in the inn with your mother and father?”

The child ducks her head, abashed, only to flop down onto her belly and rest her chin on her arms. “I can’t sleep,” she admits.

Tiki’s gaze is still fixated on the stars. She exhales slowly. “Oh?”

“I have nightmares sometimes.”

“As do I. They are best not weathered alone. You may stay with me until you are at ease, if you wish."

"Oh...thank you."

Tiki hums.

Kicking her legs, the child then gives her a curious look. “But, what could dragons be afraid of? Those…men of the cloth, they say you’re like Naga!”

“I am not like Naga.”

“…Really? But why then do they…”

Tiki brings a paw up to lightly cover the child, shielding her from a chill sailing in from the north, though it also has the effect of temporarily silencing the conversation. The breeze is bringing clouds with it, and yet the stars will still be there, even if she cannot see them.

The child pokes her head out from between massive claws.

“You don’t think you’re like Naga?”

“No, I do not. Are you like your mother?”

“Yes! O-Or…well…I hope so…Mother's known for so many things, I…”

“Exactly.”

“Huh? What does _that_ mean?”

Tiki only chuckles, amused, and resists the urge to fall back asleep as her head drops flat against the grass.

“…Do you not like your mother, Lady Tiki?”

“It has nothing to do with that,” she murmurs, and her mind thrills with the warm caress of the goddess—a touch of amusement and curiosity. “But to claim to be in any manner equally akin to my most divine mother would be something of the height of arrogance…”

One eye opens.

“Though I may resemble a close substitute.”

It takes a moment for the child to catch the joke. She breaks into a peal of giggles that, somehow, only succeeds in making Tiki all the drowsier. Naga, too, seems amused.

They sit in silence after that for a time. Tiki drifts in and out of her eternally recurring dreams, and relives a few precious years of her youth spent beside the most remarkable man…At times the colors and the details are so vibrant, yet so surreal, that she feels as if the field beneath her could have been the very same she crossed thousands of years ago.

The child, for her part, stares up at the sky until she loses the battle against herself and drifts off into dreamland.

Gently, slowly, the Voice rises and brings the child close to her, holding her with one paw before the world spirals down, condenses, compacts the draconic might of her kind away within her and leaves Tiki in her more human form—plus child. Carrying the youngling in her arms, she enters the village proper with no real haste or urgency.

She can sense malevolence for miles around, but there has been none since the _dreaded one_ fell.

It never proves necessary for Tiki to enter the inn. The door opens a few seconds before she even approaches, and the faint alarm in the eyes of the culprit quickly fades into a look of warm fondness.

Robin takes Lucina into her own arms and heaves a sigh of relief.

“So _this_ is where she’s gone…I’m sorry if she troubled you, Tiki. She’s had something of a curious wanderlust at night for a long time now.”

“Please, it is far from troublesome. I enjoy her company as much as I do anybody else’s.”

Robin smiles in thanks, but then her eyes fall onto the small one, and a wry smile crosses her lips.

“I take it she told you about her dreams.”

“Not _about_ them,” Tiki says, folding her hands upon her breast. “But that she _has_ them? Yes.”

Eyes wandering over the tops of the thatched roofs and the stone chimneys that topped them, Robin sighs. “…Should I be worried?”

 “No.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

She smiles, following the tactician’s gaze to the stars. “I cannot say for certain. Perhaps she shares a connection with the Lucina who came to us from the days that could have been, or perhaps it is something else entirely, but whatever the cause…I have no ill feelings regarding this. I do not believe you need to be concerned.”

“What a relief…! I think I’ve had enough complications to last me a lifetime, if you know what I mean…” Robin grimaces but the look in her eyes is warm, and Tiki feels nostalgia crash over her like a wave.

“I have seen enough complications to last for several mortal lifespans. Trust me when I say that I understand.” Shooting her a sideways look, Tiki adds, “This is what you intended to speak to me about, correct? Why you came here to the village I’ve been visiting? Pass the good word to Chrom as well—your worries are unfounded. Lucina will fare well in this world.”

“ _Thank_ you, Tiki. Chrom and I really appreciate it. I know it’s getting late, so I’ll leave you alone to get some rest.” Robin inclined her head, indicating the peacefully slumbering Lucina. “I need to tuck her in as well, and check that Morgan’s still asleep…”

“Underestimated the difficulties of motherhood, Robin?” Tiki’s grin carries a devious edge.

“Heh, I _might_ have learned that no amount of parenting books will prepare a person for it…But I can improvise. Good night, Lady Tiki.”

“Sleep well, Robin.”

Robin departs in a silent flurry of Plegian robes, the six eyes of Grima repurposed to represent the ever-vigilant eyes of a tactician. Tiki watches her go with some amusement, thinking on the curious situation of the Royal Family of Ylisse, where the children from the _could have been_ still remain a part of this world.

The Lucina who knew that _hope would never die_ resides in a room right next to her parents, and forever would she stay.

Tiki dawdles a moment then in the empty village square, thinking of ghosts of the past and warriors from the future, of dreams and nightmares and places where she had forged her most blissful memories.

The wind has changed direction. The stars yet shine.

Tiki turns down the road that leads out of the village, and walks through the fields with Marth.

**Author's Note:**

> Also written at nearly 4am, but I was looking to do a more thoughtful piece because I truly adore Tiki.


End file.
